I was offered a large goblet of warm blood as soon as I crossed my legs. I took it greedily and drank it. The blood was delicious, and I told her so. She smiled and said nothing as she, too, drank.
“Tell me about yourself,” she demanded.
“What do you want to know?” I asked in reply.
“Do you enjoy life? Do you have powers that other Bloodborns do not? Do you have a mate?” she asked me in rapid-fire succession.
I swayed my head side to side, considering them. “My life is okay. Could be better, could be worse. I like to draw. I want to go to art school.”
“Art? Interesting.” She smiled, but I could tell she did not find it interesting.
“What kind of powers are you talking about?” I asked instead of answering her second question. Her grin grew so large her fangs became exposed and her eyes widened. She turned to the fire and put her hand out. She quickly closed her hand into a fist and the fire went out, darkness swarming over us. Then, a moment later it roared back to life and I blinked to see her hand open.
“I can do wondrous things.”
I shook my head. “I can’t do that.”
Something in the back of my head was telling me not to tell her about my powers linked directly to Desi. She frowned, but nodded.
“What about a mate? Have you taken a lover?”
I laughed. “I’ve been on this earth for fifty years.”
She laughed with me. “Yes, of course. You have multiple then?”
“No, just the one. We’re soulmates.”
She cocked her head at the unfamiliar word.
I licked my lips and looked down at my goblet, half-full. “Desi and I fell in love when we were humans. There was an accident, and we both thought the other was going to die, so we made deals with a demon to save each other.”
She swore and her red eyes went wide. “Which demon?”
“Samson,” I gulped. “Do you know him?”
“I am familiar.” Her eyes darkened. “Go on.”
“For me, he saved Desi’s life, but took my memory of him. I had to give him a thousand evil souls if I wanted it back.”
“And him? Desi?” she said his name with almost a confusion in her tone.
“Desiderio,” I clarified. I did not like her using my nickname for him. “He had to do ten-thousand.”
“How long did it take?”
“Thirty years.”
“And you were still in love?”
“Kind of. We had actually met again before we remembered each other and fell in love without knowing the truth.”
“Are you married?”
I shook my head.
“So, just in love?”
“Well, no, we’re bonded.”
